Since its foundation in 1959, the Catholic University of Temuco has developed works and bonds with mapuche people. In the last ten years, recognition of mapuche kimün and the intercultural context in which the institutional mission develops have been enhanced by external events as well as by the deepening of its own identity as a university of public and regional commitment. One of the key symbolic components of this recognition is the annual realization of a ceremony known as xepel gijatun, during the we xipantu celebration’s week. Students who have participated in it, believe that it is a moment of cultural teaching and learning, which accounts for a diversity of territory identities, coming together around the prayer and gratitude to nature, as a life cycle. These elements make it a unique ceremony that strengthens the institutional identity.
Keywords:
La Araucanía, espiritualidad mapuche, interculturalidad, Universidad Católica, identidad mapuche.
Palet Araneda, P., Osses Valle, R., Castillo Muñoz, A., & Gloel, M. (2020). The xepel gijatun ceremony. Dialogue, identity and interculturality at the Catholic University of Temuco. Cuadernos Judaicos, (37), 4–19. https://doi.org/10.5354/0718-8749.2020.60566
